Hew to the Line. v. '"$' : Vol. I SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, FEBRUARY 1, 1896 No. 23. N THE NEW CITY GOVERN MENT. The inaugural address of Mayor Glendinning, is given to the public this week. It is a document of considerable length and much breadth. We regret that our limited, space prevents its publica tion in full; but as it was pub lished in the city dailies, we pre sume it was generally read; if not we advise every citizen who is in. terested in good municipal govern ment to get it and read it. We do not agree with all the statements and conclusions of the Mayor; but we concede that in the main.it has a true reformatory ring- "We fought Mr. Glendinning's election to the best of our ability; but after the battle was over, we bowed to the will of the majority, and we now claim him - as our Mayor, as much as though his opponent had been elected. Party prejudice should never rise above patriotism, especially in mun icipal affairs, and the Broad Ax will cheerfully support the new Mayor in his honest efforts to re form, and in building up the sub stantial interests of our promising city the "Pearl ofj the Rockies." We commend especially that portion of the address which re lates to the cutting down of ex penses in all such matters as will not impede the growth and pros perity of the'city. As to that portion of the Mayor's utterances regarding the suppres sion of all vices, as violation of Sunday laws, gambling and prosti tution, wc think he is a little Utopian in his ideas. When it comes to the suppression ef these misdemeanors by the strict enforce ment of the law, it has always proven a failure; and no city of the size and character of Salt Lake has ever been able to rid itself of these evils. It has always been a knotty question as to the best way of deal ing with these offenders, but that they can be absolutely exterminated we think is a mistake. The safest way is to keep them under control as .much as possible, by such means as experience shows will produce the best results. Salt Lake City is far better in this -respect than most western cities of equal population, and about as moral as any eastern city we know of. However, the new mayor shows elements of strength which instill feelings of hope that seder the present ad ministration oar city will grew and prosper, and that u timet get a little better we shall see great improvements and development of the capital of the new State. To this cud and purpose let every man stand by the executive head 6f the city, and thereby assist in pushing forward this our home and pride of the West. THE MISTAKES OF COLORED MEN. Oxe of the most unfortunate er rors of many colored men, is that they have no liberty or freedom to change their political opinions They consider themselves chaine and bound to the juggernaut car of Republicanism, and permit themselves to be led, or, rather, dragged by that party, simply for no other reason than that they are not white men- And a great many white men of that party share the same opinion, and act toward the negroes as though they belonged to the j. o. p. by right of purchase. Aspong as this condition exists between the two races, so long will the negro fail to fulfill the destiny for which he is striving. Politics is a science and should be studied and practised upon rational theories, and not upon lines of prejudice. If an intelli gent colored man, after carefully investigating the science of govern ment, should come to the conclu sion that the principles of the Dem ocratic party conformed nearer to his idea of civil government, and, therefore, he would vote to elect members of that party to office, he should be commended aad not abused, and his motives impugned by a charge of dishonesty. The colored man has as much right to change his views on political questions as on any other. One great trouble with so many of our colored, brethren is, they will not hold themselves open to conviction. They shut their eyes and go into the battle like a blind horse. As the cultured and polished "Dick" Greener said, "he never as much as read a Democratic ticket, much less voted one." Such expressions plainly show the unreasonable and blighting effect of partisan preju dice. The negroes should read and study both sides of the political question; and then act freely and honestly the same as any other rea sonable being. White men often change their views and their party affiliations, why can not the colored men do the . same if convinced of their error. Some of the greatest men of this country have been members of two or three parties at different times in their lives. Read and investigate both sides; then choose that which seems to be nearest correct, and you will be acting as an intelligent citizen. Do not abuse one who changes his opinions, but concede Jits right to change and honor him for his inde pendence. What we need is manly men, who fear not to follow the dictates of their own conscience in preference to the yell of the party overseer. The white people them selves would respect the negroes far more, if they were to assert their mauhood in this regard. Do not fear the result, you may incur the wrath of a few political bosses, but in the end you will gain the confi dence and esteem of all classes, and preserve your own self-respect. Do not go on making this same mistake year, after year, until you become so weak that you cannot be free to act on a question of politics as you would on any other question. We know a number of good colored men in this city, who are at heart disgusted and dissatisfied with the Republican party, but they are afraid to vote otherwise for fear of reproach. We say to these men you are . aking a mistake in thus smother; - the instincts of man hood, .throw off the yoke and be free an ou will be manly. POLITICAL PREACHERS. If there is any one thing that is an abomination unto the Lord, we believe it is a political priest or preacher. These ecclesiastical poli tical mountebanks are a curse and a blight upon any community where they receive aid and comfort. They are a class of men claiming to be divinely commissioaed to teach creeds and doctrines on theological subjects, and they most generally assume an air of infallibility on each and every dogma they under take to assert. We do not mean to be understood as including in the foregoing all the minister? of the gospel, who devote their lives to preaching or writing upon reli gious matters, but we now refer to a class of these persons who are constantly seeking to obtrude their notions of political questions upon their followers through the insignia of the cloth of the clergy. These men usually have a potent influence over their followers, b reason of their station and their professions of morality, being expoused teach ers, and constantly urging their opiaioas apon their hearers, so that they are able to- do more good or h... ! l .. ."-, uauu, 3 mc vase may oe, tnaau muafc buy timer ciass or men. v vw Politics. lil-P lav mofKmna A& any other profession, is an exact science, and to be understood and taught, must be studied carefully and honestly. Pursuits of all kinds are generally classified these mod rn days, and a preacher is no more qualified to instruct his hearers on the. political issues than a book keeper would be to teach how to raise potatoes. There are many reasons why these men devoted to a special calling should not arrogate to themselves the knowledge of statesmen, and enter the arena of political strife to secure the election of their favorites. Their judge ment is generally very poor in such cases. Such conduct tends to sec tarianism. It is an effort in the direction of uniting church and state affairs; a situation dangerous and demoralizing in a free govern ment. It cripples and impairs the usefulness of the true minister by bringing reproach and disgrace up on the profession generally and lessens their power for good. It tends to divide and bring dissen sion among the members of the various churches. And, finally, if these political teachers are called by God Himself to preach the gos pel, as they claim, then they are misappropriating their time and talents in a work for which they werenot called,for the Great Teacher once said, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's,0 etc. We have a few of this class in our city, who avail themselves of every opportunity to dictate and criticise upon affairs which do not concern them except as private citi zens. They have attempted to in fluence the decisions of courts of justice, not in their private but in their ministerial capacity. Some have gone even so far as to seek to coerce the action of the legislature in the selection of a United States senator. Fortunately the occupa tion of these fakirs is in disfavor in this community, as it should be, and their success is not great. We believe it to be the duty of all good citizens to discourage and con demn the work of these parvenue politicians of clerical descent. If a man wants to change his profession, all right; but let him lay off his ministerial robes when he enters the service of Mammon, and not try to serve the devil in the livery of heaven. Goob times are coming this year. Get off your coat aad help the cause. ." - k r . . :. . '."V- - ; .. ,v- . f - -, ;'- -...- .a -.i::-' .' sSSCSS - -.aaM"':--l- y . -Vi "&smsL uiA AWi. a - - ' r - . rlf " - - -- -2HliHHtoYaBraM -SK. -. .SMiMKEVaKSgL . .u. :fcrSiK---ix:WBar-- .'-- w,i3cr-. r ? .vrMMxr: -. J " - ' """" -- - ""' ' ' """ 'I'1' 'TT'i'.' . - .'"- if-" " i i lin i i " i ' '.